1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a low-profiled electrical connector, and particularly to a low-profiled electrical connector used in a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor for connecting the monitor with a computer mainframe, wherein the connector can be stably mounted on an edge of a printed circuit board (PCB).
2. Description of Related Art
With the development of electronics technology, digital interfaces used in LCD was developed as a replacement for analogous interface. Three interface standards, i.e., Plug and Display (PandD), Digital Flat Panel (DFP) and Digital Visual Interface (DVI) are concomitant and DVI will be the promising standard thereof. The DVI standard was developed by Digital Visual Working Group (DDWG) on April 1999. Generally, an electrical connector according the DVI standard comprises a D-shaped insulative housing, a plurality of L-shaped terminals assembled in the insulative housing, a spacer for positioning the terminals and a shield enclosing the housing. The DVI electrical connector is mounted on a surface of a printed circuit board (PCB) for providing a digital and analogous signal transmission.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,210,218 B1, 5,692,912 B1, 6,338,652 B1, 5,931,687 B1, and 6,287,146 B1 disclose DVI connectors each of which has an insulative housing having a height totally located above the PCB. Accordingly, these conventional DVI connectors have a high profile above the PCBs, which is unfavorable in view of the thin trend of the electronic devices accommodating these connectors. It is necessary to devise an insulative housing for a DVI connector which when mounted on a printed circuit board has a generally half height thereof above/below the PCB so that a profile of the connector above/below the PCB can be reduced to meet the thin trend of the electronic devices.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having an improved housing whereby the connector can be mounted to a PCB in such manner that generally a half height of the housing is located above/below of the PCB so that the connector have a low profile above/below of the PCB.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a DVI connector having a housing which can be stably mounted to an edge of a PCB in which the DVI connector generally has a half height thereof located above/below the PCB.
In order to achieve the objects set forth, an electrical connector comprises an insulative housing, a grounding shield, and a terminal module. The housing having a base portion, a mating portion extending forwardly from a front face of the base portion, a mounting portion extending rearwardly from a rear face of the base portion. A plurality of passageways is defined in the mating portion. A pair of steps is defined at opposite lateral ends of the base portion. A pair of arms extends upwardly from lateral ends of the mounting portion. A space is defined between the rear face of the base portion and an upper face of the mounting portion for receiving a PCB therein. The arms and the steps have top surfaces for abutting against the PCB, which are located at a level below a top face of the base portion a distance that when the electrical connector is mounted to an edge of the PCB, generally a half height of the connector is located above/below the PCB. Thus, the connector has a reduced profile above/below the PCB. Accordingly, an electronic device accommodating the electrical connector can have a reduced thickness. The grounding shield comprises a plate, a shroud extending from the plate for surrounding the mating portion.
The terminal module has an insulation mounted to the base portion of the housing and a plurality of terminals insert molded with the insulation. The top surfaces of the arms and the steps are located at the same level and abut a bottom face of the PCB when the connector is mounted to the PCB, whereby the connector can be stably mounted to the edge of the PCB.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.